Robert Shwartzman, who competed in the FIA Formula 2 Championship for 2020 and 2021 where he finished 4th and 2nd respectively, will continue to be a member of the Ferrari Driver Academy and will complete testing duties with the team under an Israeli licence, as confirmed by Ferrari Team Principal Mattia Binotto.
The widespread western sanctions against Russia mean that drivers are not allowed to compete in FIA events under the Russian flag, a decision which directly impacts Ferrari junior Robert Shwartzman, who drove for the Maranello team and also Haas during last year’s Abu Dhabi Young Drivers’ Test.
Given the fact that all teams have to give a rookie driver the opportunity to take to the track in two Friday practice sessions during the current Formula 1 championship, it means that Robert Shwartzman, who is also Ferrari’s test driver, was the first in-line to make his Free Practice debut in Formula 1 with the F1-75 car this year.
And in order to be eligible to do so, Robert Shwartzman will use his Israeli flag, as the 22-year old is born in Israel and raised in Saint Petersburg. Scuderia Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto confirmed that Robert Shwartzman “has got an Israeli passport, and in terms of license, it’s not a Russian one. He was in agreement as well with Russian companies that he interrupted his, let me say, any agreement he got with those companies. Robert is still our test driver and he will remain that. If we will have in the future any opportunities to let him drive, we will probably let him drive.” – he added.
Ferrari Driver Academy member Mick Schumacher is the most senior talent and is currently taking part in his second Formula 1 championship alongside Haas. While Ferrari has one of the most stacked junior driver set-ups, behind Robert Shwartzman there are no Ferrari-backed juniors in Formula 2.
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Which means that, given Mick Schumacher is a full-time Formula 1 driver for Haas this season, Robert Shwartzman became the first option for testing appearances with Haas as well as the Maranello team. Alfa Romeo represent another potential opening since they are a Ferrari engine customer, but Sauber-backed junior and Formula 2 racer Theo Pourchaire is the most obvious talent for Alfa Romeo to call upon.
After four rounds of the 2022 Formula 1 season, in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Australia and Italy, no team has yet decided to use its mandatory rookie testing days. Alpine evaluated the possibility of giving their reserve driver Oscar Piastri an outing at his home race, the Australian Grand Prix, but eventually admitted the risk was too big given the early stage of the completely new cars for the 2022 Formula 1 season.
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